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Tom Brady (born August 3, 1977Tom Brady is an American football quarterback for the National Football League's New England Patriots.

Brady graduated from Junípero Serra High School, the same school that produced baseball player Barry Bonds and NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann. Brady attended the University of Michigan and led Michigan to an Orange Bowl victory in the 1999 season. In the 2000 NFL Draft, Brady was selected by the New England Patriots in the 6th round (199th overall). With the Patriots, Brady has won three Super Bowls and two Super Bowl MVP awards. Additionally, Brady was

Born near San Francisco in San Mateo, California, Brady would be regularly taken to see the 49ers play in the 1980s, where he became a fan of quarterback Joe Montana. Since that time, Brady has mentioned Montana as one of his inspirations and an idolsup He played college football for and graduated from the University of Michigan, sitting on the bench his first two years; including a year as understudy to fellow UM teammate and future NFL quarterback Brian Griese who led the Wolverines to the 1997 National Championship. Brady battled for the first string quarterback position with Drew Henson and ultimately started every game in the 1998 and 1999 seasons under Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. He was All-Big Ten both seasons and team captain his senior year. The Wolverines won 20 of 25 games when Brady started and shared the Big Ten Conference title in 1998. In the 1999 season, Brady led Michigan in defeating Alabama in an overtime game in the Orange Bowl and threw for 400 yards in that game.

After being selected in the 6th round of the 2000 Draft, Brady served as the backup quarterback to Drew Bledsoe, going 1-for-3 during the season for 6 passing yards. His role changed on September 23, 2001, when the Patriots were playing against their AFC East division rivals, New York Jets at Foxboro Stadium. During that game, Drew Bledsoe suffered internal bleeding after colliding with Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. New England lost both the game and Bledsoe. Soon after Brady was named the starting quarterback. In his first two games, Brady's quarterback rating was low, at 79.6 and 58.7 respectively. sup . However, during a mid-season matchup at Indianapolis, Brady passed for a career-high regular season rating of 148.3 in a 38-17 win.sup Brady helped bring the Patriots to an 11-5 record and into the playoffs. He also passed for his third highest single season rating (86.5).sup

During a 2001-2002 divisional playoff game against the Oakland Raiders (played in January 2002), Tom Brady had been ruled as having fumbled on a pass attempt, with Oakland protecting a three-point lead. Citing the controversial "tuck rule," where a ball is ruled an incomplete pass after the quarterback starts any forward throwing motion, referee Walt Coleman overturned the decision after reviewing the instant replay, calling the drop an incomplete pass rather than a fumble (some analysts have claimed that Oakland should have been called for "roughing the passer" on that play, as the player who made contact with Brady hit his head; such a call would have rendered the "tuck rule" controversy obsolete). Brady, who threw for 312 yards in his first NFL playoff game, led the Patriots back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and engineered the winning drive in overtime to beat the Raiders. After defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, the Patriots were considered 14-point underdogs against the NFC champion St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.

With less than two minutes left in the Super Bowl, and the score tied, sportscaster John Madden said that he thought the Patriots should let the time run out on the clock and look to win the game in overtime. Instead, Brady drove the Patriots offense down the field. The Patriots won the game on an Adam Vinatieri field goal as time expired. Brady was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXVI while throwing for 145 yards and 1 touchdown.

Tom Brady and the Patriots finished the year at 9-7, tied for the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins for the best record in the division. However the Jets won the division on the third tiebreaker, and the Patriots missed the playoffs.

Although posting a career-low single-season rating of 85.7, Brady threw for a league-leading 28 touchdown passes, though his 14 interceptions ties his worst total.sup Moreover, at Buffalo, Brady threw for a quarterback rating of 147.6, the second highest of his career.sup Furthermore, Brady played much of the second half of the season with a shoulder injury, and New England head coach Bill Belichick has since indicated that if the Patriots had made the playoffs, Brady would not have been able to play in the first game due to that injury. Brady continues to suffer from shoulder complications, but it has not led to a missed start.

In the 2003-2004 NFL season, after a 2-2 start, Brady led the Patriots to 12 consecutive victories to finish the season and win the AFC East. Statistically, Brady's strongest game of the season was against Buffalo, when he achieved a season-high quarterback rating of 122.9.sup

In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts. On February 1, 2004, Brady led the Patriots to a 32-29 victory over the NFC champion Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII and was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time. During the game, Brady set the record for most completions by a QB in the Super Bowl (32). With 1:08 left in the fourth quarter and the score tied at 29, Brady engineered a drive to put the Patriots in position for the game-winning field goal.

During the 2004-2005 season, Brady helped the Patriots set an NFL record with 21 straight wins dating from the previous year. New England's 14-2 record matched that of the 2003-04 season and equalled the best record ever for a defending champion. The Patriots also won the AFC East divisional title for the third time in four years. In the AFC playoffs, Brady led the Patriots to victories over the Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brady played his best game of the year in Pittsburgh despite requiring IV treatment the previous night when he had a temperature of 103 degrees. Against the NFL's best defensive team, Brady recorded a quarterback passer rating of 130.5, his highest of the season.sup

On February 6, 2005, the Brady-led Patriots won Super Bowl XXXIX for their third NFL championship in four years.

During the 2005-2006 season, the Patriots were forced to rely more on Tom Brady's passing due to injuries suffered by running backs Corey Dillon, Patrick Pass, and Kevin Faulk. Brady also had to adjust to a new center and a new running back: Heath Evans. The results were positive; Brady finished first in the league with 4,110 passing yards and third in the league with 26 touchdowns. At 92.3, his 2005-2006 passer rating was the second highest of his career, although he tied his worst interception total (14).sup Brady and the injured Patriots finished with a 10-6 record and obtained their third straight AFC East title. Some of the highlights of the season included another game with the Steelers, in which Brady helped lead the team on the game winning drive. When the Patriots visited the Atlanta Falcons, Brady achieved a regular season-high rating of 140.3.sup It was the fourth highest regular season single-game quarterback rating of Brady's career.

In the playoffs, Brady led the Patriots to a 28-3 victory over Jacksonville in the Wild Card Round. However, on January 14, 2006, the Patriots lost 27-13 against the Denver Broncos at INVESCO Field. Brady threw for 346 yards in the game and a touchdown with two interceptions, including one returned 100 yards by Denver cornerback Champ Bailey. It was the first loss of Brady's playoff career.

Despite not playing in the game, Brady was present at Super Bowl XL, as the official coin tosser prior to kickoff.

There is considerable debate, both among football fans and sportswriters, as to where exactly Tom Brady ranks in the quarterback pantheon. This debate has existed and evolved for several years, from arguments over whether Brady was even better than average to current arguments that center on comparing Brady to only a few select and elite quarterbacks. Most notably, comparisons are often made with Peyton Manning (#18) of the Indianapolis Colts, leading to fierce and bitter controversy.

Brady's fiercest detractors have argued that he is a "system quarterback", and believe that many other quarterbacks would have enjoyed the same level of success playing for the Patriots. Brady's defenders argue that he is a clutch player. Under Tom Brady, the New England Patriots' regular season record is 48-17, and they are 10-1 in the playoffs and 7-0 in overtime. Brady has extensive experience with pressure situations. He has led the most (21) game-winning scoring drives in the 4th quarter or overtime in the NFL since he became a starter. While not known for his outstanding statistics, Brady is seventh all-time in passer rating, posting an 88.5 career mark through the end of the 2005-2006 regular season. Brady also led the NFL in touchdown passes in 2002-2003 with 28, and total pass yardage in 2005-2006 with 4,110 yards.sup

Looking at his statistics, one sees that the departure of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, who became head coach of Notre Dame in 2005, did not seem to affect Brady. As previously mentioned, Brady finished the regular season with league-leading 4,110 yards passing and 26 touchdowns. Even as his Patriots shifted through a league record 44 starters, including injuries to left tackle Matt Light and center Dan Koppen for the season, the Patriots finished with a 10-6 record and clinched the AFC East for the fourth time in five years. Brady finished third in the league in MVP votes for the 2005 season, with Shaun Alexander winning the award. sup 73.7 passing attempts per interception in the post-season (lowest rate, NFL history (minimum 250 pass attempts): Bart Starr second with 71 attempts per post-season interception)On January 26, 2004, Tom Brady attended the annual State of the Union Address as a guest of President George W. Bush. Brady declined to discuss his political views with the media. According to The Smoking Gun as of 2004, Tom Brady is a registered voter, but has not voted in any political election so far.Brady appears in a Visa commercial with his teammates from his offensive line, Brandon Gorin, Tom Ashworth, Russ Hochstein, Matt Light, and Dan Koppen in which the offensive linemen represented Visa's five layers of protection., Brady was named Sportsman of the Year; he is the fourth professional football player to receive the honor since the award was created in 1954 and the first professional football player to garner the accolade since 1990.Was nominated for the FedEx Air Player of the Year Award with Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer(Winner).In his five full seasons as an NFL quarterback, Brady has thrown for either 12 or 14 interceptions per season. In 2002 and 2004, his touchdown-interception ratio was identical (28-14). episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass" alongside Raiders' defensive end Warren Sapp. (first aired February 6, 2005). NFL.com - Tom Brady Detailed information on Tom Brady's statistics, including situational, career, and game-by-game statistics. Accessed January 11, 2006